1. Field
Various embodiments of the invention relate generally to medical health care technology, and more particularly, to providing remote tele-health services.
2. Related Art
Conventional medical services and care are experiencing increased demand as a result of the increasing age of the population. Additionally, medical care is becoming increasingly more expensive and unavailable for a large portion of the population.
Prior Art includes U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0222649. An engagement is brokered between a consumer and a medical service provider; a request from a user to consult with a medical service provider having a service provider profile that satisfies at least some attributes in a set of attributes that define a suitable service provider is received in a server computer system; an available medical service provider satisfying at least some of the attributes in the set of attributes is identified; a communication channel is provided to establish an electronic, real-time communication between the user and the medical service provider; a measurement from a sensor configured to measure a physiological parameter of the user is received over the communication channel. This method requires the consumer to own vital signs monitoring devices and be proficient in their use and to also have access to a broadband internet system and own a computer with interfaces which will support connection of these devices.
Prior Art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,047. An ambulatory (in the home) user health monitoring system is disclosed wherein the user is monitored by a health care worker at a central station, while the user is at a remote location. The user may be a person having a specific medical condition monitored or may be an elderly person desiring general medical surveillance in the home environment. Cameras are provided at the user's remote location and at the central station such that the user and the health care worker are in interactive visual and audio communication. A communications network such as an interactive cable television is used for this purpose. Various medical condition sensing and monitoring equipment are placed in the user's home, depending on the particular medical needs of the user. The user's medical condition is measured or sensed in the home and the resulting data is transmitted to the central station for analysis and display. The health care worker then is placed into interactive visual communication with the user concerning the user's general wellbeing, as well as the user's medical condition. Thus, the health care worker can make “home visits” electronically, twenty-four hours a day.
Prior Art includes U.S. Pat. No. 7,778,852. A remotely programmable and accessible medical device system including an interface unit and a medical device connected to a user is disclosed. Through a transceiver, such as a telephone or computer, a person may obtain status reports from a remotely located medical device in audible, electronic or paper form. In addition, the person may change a protocol associated with the medical device or be alerted at a remote location of an alarm associated with the medical device.
A conventional medical device, such as a blood glucose monitor, is designed to be held in the hand by a user. The user lances a finger to draw a small amount of blood, which is applied to a disposable glucose test strip previously inserted into the monitor by the user. The results are displayed on a screen on the monitor and may also be sent via data cable to a computer for archive. The conventional blood glucose monitor cannot be used without handling by a user so that in an unmanned micro clinic it would not be possible to determine if the last user properly cleaned the monitor, using for example a medicated wipe. A medical device, which is visibly dirty (e.g., portions of the device covered in chocolate, grease from food, dirt, etc.) may be so uninviting to the next user that the user would not wish to clean the device manually, and so the device would need to cleaned automatically.
Automatic cleaning systems would require the blood glucose monitor to be immersed or sprayed with a liquid disinfectant. The receptacle in the monitor which accepts the test strip, however, cannot be immersed or sprayed with a disinfectant.
In view of the foregoing there is need for systems for providing affordable and accessible health care. What is needed is a remotely accessed tele-health system providing a plurality of vital signs monitoring devices in a secure, sanitized public access cabin connected to a Medical Call Center (MCC). Users of a tele-health system may be provided with convenient and affordable access to primary healthcare without having to travel a significant distance for care.